Promises of a Heart
by LiLee04
Summary: Hermione's about to marry the love of her life. But suddenly realizes what a big mistake she's about to make.
1. Lying to myself

**Promises of a Heart**

Chapter 1

"_Please leave." Severus spoke slowly without taking a glance at her._

"But, Severus…I" Hermione started to protest… 

"_Please!" …but Severus has had enough of her torturing._

"_Severus, I love you!" Hermione was at trying to bite back the tears that were threatening to fall._

"_No, you do not! Now if you please, I am a very busy mean as I am sure you are as well. I'll show you at the door." Severus made his way past Hermione to reach for the door but Hermione held her hand up to him._

"_No, I can show myself out." This time, she didn't hesitate to let the tears fall._

"_Congratulations on the wedding." stated Severus stiffly._

"Hermione!" Ginny yelled, waking Hermione from her thoughts. Her thoughts of the night before.

"Oh!" was all Hermione could come up with. Not expecting the sudden visit from the maid of honor and the best man at the last minute.

"The wedding is about to…wow…you look…wow…" Harry couldn't get his words straight that his wife had to do shake him off of his fantasy.

"Harry, quit gawking at her, would you? Or else there'd be nothing left for her soon-to-be-husband to gawk at!" Ginny swatted him playfully in the arm.

Hermione just giggled softly at both of them and started to remember the days when she and Severus were like that. Happy and uncaring of the world that they live in. Once again, Ginny shook her from her thoughts and reminded her once again that her wedding was about to start.

"Go on ahead, I'll catch up. I just need to memorize my vows, that's all."

"Well you better hurry it up then if you don't want to be late on your own wedding, now would you?" Ginny tugged at Harry's hand and the two of them left Hermione on her own. Leaving her once again to have peace of mind.

How could she ever go through this day without choking her conscience? She knew all this to be her fault in the first place. Although Severus didn't go mad like she expected him to be upon bringing him the news of her arranged marriage, actions certainly speak louder than words in Severus' case. The two months that Severus spent trying to avoid her, simply did tell her everything she needed to know how much he must have loathed her.

Severus recalled the week before Hermione's wedding day when she was discussing the details about her soon-to-be-husband with Ginny while on his way to the Great Hall. Severus was slowly following behind them as they were on their way to the Great Hall as well. He would have wanted to turn the other way around and come back to have breakfast later as soon as _she_ was done with hers. But he reasoned with himself and thought it would make him look rather childish to do something such as that. So instead, he kept walking. He couldn't help but stare at those soft curls that he longed to reach and caress. Quickly realizing his current situation, he made a mental note to himself that everything between him and Hermione was over. He was back facing the real, cruel world he once knew.

While on their way, and although he hadn't meant it, he was able to hear parts of their conversation. And was surprised at what he heard. Apparently, Hermione's betrothed was also a mudblood like her but with a high rank in muggle society. His name was Leopold Van Garret. He chuckled inwardly as he heard Ginny Weasley's childish whining of how gallant her fiancé was.

_Well, at least I know she'll be marrying someone much more deserving of her than I am. _

Throughout the whole conversation, Severus learned a lot from Hermione's new love. But he didn't take everything that he heard seriously, he knew Hermione knew he was right behind them. And just before the two women entered the Great Hall, Hermione stopped for a moment and stared into Severus' ebony eyes and he punched himself mentally for being caught off guard.


	2. Doubtful Happiness

  
Chapter 2 

"Sweetie? Hermione…are you alright?" This time it was Hermione's mother who woke her up from her thoughts.

"Huh… Oh! Hi mum!"

"Are you alright, dear? Ginny says you haven't been yourself lately."

"I'm fine. Just…nervous, that's all."

Jane Granger smiled softly at her only daughter and gently caressed her cheek, careful not to ruin her make-up. Hermione responded to the kind and sweet gesture of her mother and rubbed her cheeks against her fingers.

"I know how it feels, dear. I've been through that road once and I know the pressures of it. But when you think about it, there really is nothing to be scared of. Especially if that person you're going to be marrying is the person you love the most."

Both mother and daughter stilled for a moment and exchanged wary looks, upon realizing this Jane Granger immediately held her daughter's shoulders and stared straight into her almond eyes.

"Unless of course, you don't love the person you are betrothed to."

At this, Hermione bowed her head even lower that her own mother couldn't see the expression she held in her face.

"But, Hermione…I thought you had loved Leopold all along? What is the matter?"

"I did mum. But…that was a long time ago. Plus I was only seven at that time when I first met Leopold. I never thought being married to him would be this serious."

"What are you trying to say, dear?"

"Mum, you know very well the reason why I agreed to be enrolled in Hogwarts, right?"

"To study and learn new things, exactly as you told me and you're father because you said you were going to prove you're worth to Leopold and his family."

"Yes, mum. And I have. But…I never expected studying was all I was ever going to do at Hogwarts."

There was a silent pause. Hermione shifted uncomfortably under her mother's gaze. Her mother on the other hand was trying to register the information her daughter had just told her. What did she really mean?

"What else did you do at Hogwarts aside from studying then?"

"Well I…I…Mum I…"

"What is it, dear? You know you can tell me anything."

"I fell in love."

Jane Granger's jaws slightly dropped. Hermione bit her lower lip harder than she thought that it was bleeding internally. She didn't know how her mother would handle this kind of confession. She knew it wasn't the right time to tell her things like these (and on her wedding day at that!) But she couldn't wait any longer to tell her. She wanted to think things through and make sure she made the right decision before walking up the aisle and marry the man she thought she once loved.

"Well, Hermione, that is entirely normal for you to be in love. You are a girl, of course. And seeing the fact that you haven't seen Leopold again for several years, there may be times you forget the reason why you were there in the first place. But maybe love wouldn't be the right word for you to describe what you were feeling. You were already engaged since you step foot in that school. Infatuation would be a more proper term for it. Yes, that's it. Nothing to worry about."

Hermione felt annoyed at the fact that her mother didn't take what she said as serious as she had expected. She's spent more than half of her life being near Severus (being his teacher/mentor and lover at the same time), and she calls it as infatuation. And now she meets again the man she thought she once loved, whom she only saw less than five times in her lifetime and that's what her mother call love? Something was definitely wrong with the world!

Before mother and daughter could utter a word to argue to the other, Ginny barged in unexpectedly and announced that the wedding had already started. Everyone was expected to be in their assigned positions.

"Hermione, we need to talk about this later. Right now, Leopold is waiting for you."

Hermione would have argued further with her mother. But she held herself back, not knowing why. She just did. Gathering all the strength and determination she needed to go through this whole ordeal, she helped herself up and fixed herself hurriedly in front of the mirror and followed her mother outside for the ceremony.

She was just in time to make it to beside her father when the song "Here comes the bride" tune finally played.


	3. Correcting a mistake

Chapter 3 

Severus stared at the grandfather clock for what seemed to be 18th time. It was now 3:05 in the afternoon and he was left all alone in the faculty room at Hogwarts. He corrected himself; he was left all alone in the castle himself. It seems that everybody was eager to see the great heroine walk down the aisle.

He imagined how heavenly she would have looked in her wedding dress. What it would feel like to be marrying him instead of that air-headed gallant who calls himself worthy of her. He remembered the times he and Hermione had spent together through her years as a student and being his lover. Surprisingly, he was deeply saddened by the thought of saying goodbye to those memories and to her as well. Then, moments later he slapped himself silly for even thinking of such thoughts. He need not to think of her any longer since she was going to be married by now.

He couldn't believe he had the whole castle to himself. _All for what? For a wedding? _Severus decided to ambush the Hogwarts kitchen and grab himself a good bottle of Firewhiskey to take his mind off things. This was going to be a long day.

As Hermione slowly walked down the aisle, all eyes were on her. Smiles were being flashed at her wherever she turned; she thought she was going to go blind. So instead she kept her eyes focused on the man ahead of her. The man who had been waiting for her for so many years.

When she had finally reached her stop at the aisle right next to the man whom she was betrothed, so many thoughts suddenly flooded her mind. Questions she didn't thought of asking and answers she never thought she knew. Everything was beginning to blur around her as reality hit her in the head like a bludger.

What am I doing here? Am I even supposed to be here? 

_Of course you're supposed to be here, it's your wedding day, silly!_

_But still, do I really want to spend my entire lifetime with a person everybody thinks is perfect? I barely know him!_

_Of course you do! You've been dreaming about this day ever since you've met._

_Yes, I have. But…what about Severus?_

_So? What about him? He's already accepted you're decision on this matter. Don't even bother. If he really loved you, he'd be here right now stopping the wedding himself._

_Yes. He should be here. But it was unfair of me to lie to him like that. Hiding the whole truth and all. It wasn't fair of me either to just let him find out one day his lover is already engaged!_

_Come on, Hermione. Wake up and smell the butterbeer! You have the perfect man standing right beside you. Do you really want to throw it away and make the biggest mistake of you're life?_

Hermione stopped in her tracks. Leopold was looking curiously at her and shook her gently from her thoughts.

"Hermione, are you alright, honey?"

_I've already done the biggest mistake of my life. Now, I'm going to fix it._

The guests and everyone else that was part of the ceremony started to worry. Hermione didn't move at all. When suddenly, the fresh white bouquet she had carried fell to the floor. Leopold made a move to pick it up, but Hermione caught his arm tightly. She turned Leopold to face her. Leopold flashed her a big smile, which caused Hermione's guilt to triple upon what she was about to do.

_Two bloody years with each other and it meant nothing to her!_

Severus wondered how he could stay so calm about the whole situation.

_But why should she bother treasuring what we had when she couldn't even bother telling me she was bloody engaged!_

Severus gulped down the last of his Firewhiskey. He wanted to hex everything in sight. But then Hermione's image appeared in his mind. And he was calm once more. He couldn't explain it, but whenever he felt his temper rising, it would always evaporate whenever he thought about Hermione. She had changed his life like no else had ever done.

Not even Albus could change my life this much! But then her… 

As much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't lie to himself. He **loved **her. How could he not when she made everything seem so…beautiful. Just like her. Rare and exquisite. He wondered how his life would have been without her.

But now, reality was knocking at his door and he needed to let these memories go, the same way that he had let her go. He may have regretted letting her go so easily when he could have fought for her. But he didn't regret the fact that he loved her. Too much in fact that his heart was aching very badly for the first time.


	4. Runaway Bride

Chapter 4 

"Hermione, I don't understand. What is the matter?"

"I know you may have heard this before, and as cliché as it sounds…it's not you. It's me, Leopold. I can't do this."

"But why? Are things moving too fast for you? We can definitely arrange that matter, my love."

Leopold tried to caress her cheek. And as his hand brushed upon her soft skin, she didn't feel the same way when Severus did that to her. He would always send shivers down her spine. This proved to be more than enough that she did love Severus after all, and not Leopold. She gently waved his hand away to stared deeply into his eyes so that he could see for himself how true she was with her decision.

"Leopold, I'm really sorry. But it's not about that. I…I've found someone else. But I swear, I never meant to. Nor did I mean to hurt you. I know you must feel that you love me but, truth be told, love is something so much more than that. I can assure you."

Hermione carried her dress and started making her way down the altar and on the carpeted aisle. She turned to take one last look at Leopold before she left.

"I'm sorry."

She ran away, not daring to look back at Leopold nor anyone else that was present.

Severus didn't feel like staying at the castle any longer and headed out towards the lake. He checked his pocket watch again, the time read 4:00 in the afternoon, which only meant one thing, the wedding was over and now Hermione is now officially known as Mrs. Hermione Van Garret. The sunset that was facing the castle didn't help with his mood either. It reminded him of the times he and Hermione used to sit there by the lake and watch the sunset.

_Maybe it was a bad idea to come down here after all._

He thought of going back inside the castle, but seeing that the wedding must have been over by now, some of the students and teachers might already be arriving. He didn't want to hear any details of the wedding so he stayed put to where he was settled.

His hand played with the grass as he enjoyed the feel of the crisp air of the lake. And now that the wedding was over and that the love of his life had finally gone for good, he thought about transferring to another school and teach there instead. Hogwarts held too many memories for him to bear. Although there was the presence of Pensieves, it was not enough. The castle itself represented a memory of Hermione. He never knew anyone else who loved the school as much as she did.

As he was contemplating on his thoughts to make his final decision, he was oblivious to the white figure behind him who had been watching him the whole time.


	5. Mixed Feelings

Chapter 5

Severus was absent-mindedly throwing rocks on the lake. But he was brought back to reality when a familiar voice graced his ears.

"I knew I'd find you here."

Slowly turning his head towards the owner of the voice, his heart took a giant leap. There she was, standing there right in front of him was Hermione Granger. She looked heavenly in her wedding dress that he was left breathless (not to mention speechless). His heart felt warm all of a sudden, but the warmth quickly disappeared just at it had come.

_She's married, Severus. Why bother?_

He was suddenly disrupted from his thoughts when Hermione took a step towards him. Quickly gathering himself, he straightened himself up while recovering his voice.

"The wedding is over so soon? I was rather expecting it would take an entire day to exchange vows with the…love of your life." Severus stated the last part with disgust; Hermione could swear he almost looked as if he swallowed a whole bottle armadillo bile.

Hermione breathed shakily, opening her mouth to tell Severus of her good news. But Severus beat her to it. And she wasn't feeling too good about the situation. She noticed Severus' tongue was getting sharper by the minute.

"Muggle weddings. They certainly are fast. I must say I am rather impressed by it. Not even wizards are this keen to get on each other's knickers. You mudbloods should really try and control yourselves. You might even destroy the wizarding world before the Dark Lord does. In case you haven't noticed, Ms. Granger, there are already too many mudbloods running around in this world. It would be rather nice to have fewer mudblood know-it-alls pretending they know better than pureblood wizards."

At this point, Hermione was clenching her fists so hard; her nails dug into her skin that it began to bleed. She shut her eyes as hard as she could, but try as she might, those tears found a way to leak and roll down her cheeks. Each tear containing hurt, fear and sorrow; all mixed up together. Severus was oblivious to this until he noticed that Hermione was shaking rather badly. Seeing the look of anguish on her face, his anger at the current situation dissipated slightly. Feeling guilty of how childish he was on her part.

_Damn it. I must have said too much._

Hermione still didn't say anything. Severus stood up slowly and began to approach Hermione. Not wanting to hurt her any further as he already had, he reached out to touch her. Envelope her in his embrace if he could. Until Hermione's hand found it's way to Severus' cheek, leaving a dark shade of red upon it.

Feeling her heart enlighten a little bit now that she was able to take his anger out on him physically, Hermione still sobbed heavily, trying as hard as she could not to choke. She spoke carefully so that Severus would hear everything she said.

"I…I came d-down h-here…t-to tell you…t-that the w-wedding is off…"

When she had finally told Severus, she tried to control herself. Breathing heavily while trying to regain her composure. Wiping her face roughly with her gloves; irritated that her tears refused to stop falling. Not wanting to wait any longer of Severus' reaction upon her display of rage, she carried her dress, turned around, then hastily made her way back to the castle.

Severus brought his hand up to his face. His cheek still slightly warm of the slap Hermione gave him. But that wasn't what bothered him the most. After what he had just been told, he would rather endure another slap in the face.

She…she cancelled the wedding? But why?! Wasn't that what she wanted? She abandoned me for that arrogant mudblood of a fool and now she's saying she's not getting married to him? What the bloody hell is happening here?!

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Hermione headed towards the castle. She knew if people saw her in her current state, they would be whispering questions. But she didn't care anymore. She could even care less if they started spreading rumors about the wedding. She was finally near the entrance of the castle. Once she got inside, she was right upon her expectation. People were whispering as she passed by. She didn't know exactly where to go, so she turned to the nearest corner she could find. Even though her eyes were blurry because of her tears, she could tell exactly who it was standing in the far corner of the hall; Professor Dumbledore and (shockingly) Leopold. She couldn't dare face Leopold after what she done. How could he ever forgive her?

Not wanting to be in a conversation with any them at the present moment, she turned to another corner and made her way towards the Astronomy Tower. Knowing all too well that the Headmaster would come after her for a talk.

(A/N) Thanks for the reviews you guys! I really appreciate it!


	6. Losing Sanity

Chapter 6

As soon as Hermione set foot on the Astronomy Tower, she immediately bombarded the entrance; throwing everything in sight towards the door to keep unwanted visitors away. So many things were running in her mind. She wondered how distraught Leopold must have been after she just turned him down like that, after waiting for more than a decade, his waiting was all for nothing.

And then there was Severus. He had loathed her more than she had expected him to be. She knew he would never speak to her again after hiding the truth about her and Leopold from him, even though she deserved it; that thought still scared her. But after what Severus said to her at the Black lake earlier, she preferred Severus to never speak to her instead.

She knew she being extremely unfair, to both Leopold and Severus. She was engaged to Leopold long before she met Severus. She knew what would happen if she kept herself close to Severus. But she still took that risk, knowing what consequences would await her after that. And now she was being tortured for taking that risk. She was being punished for it.

She couldn't take the pain she was feeling much longer. How she wished she could turn back time. Her time-turner was out of the question, though. For it was confiscated by the Ministry in her seventh year. If she claimed to be the owner of that time-turner, she'd be in more trouble than she was now. Thinking how she lost her chances of turning back time made her eyes blurry once more with tears. She didn't know what to do. How would she be able to continue living normally?

How could she be so stupid? She knew being in love with Severus was a mistake, and to add insult to injury, she had the truth from him. Then she had to leave Severus because her betrothed had been awaiting her. Then turning down Leopold in order to go back to Severus. She had made so many mistakes in her life, she wondered if she could still make things right again. So many questions ran through her mind yet no answers came, she was so confused that she was at the point of losing her sanity.

She had her whole life ahead of her, and she just threw it away. Hands tangled up in her hair, she slowly fell to the ground. Her heart ached very badly; she thought she was going to have a heart attack soon. Hermione's sobs and screams echoed throughout the school.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Severus still stood behind the tree at the lake, his hands still on his cheek. Feeling the reddened spot where Hermione's hand had been. He knew he had gone too far, even for his liking. He knew he had pushed the right buttons to bring Hermione's spirits down. At least that was what he had expected, but he did so much more in brining her spirits down; he had deeply wounded his beloved with his words. And for the first time, he felt like he was the dunderhead.

He contemplated upon what Hermione had told him earlier. He had to ask himself for he refused to believe that Hermione truly did not go through the wedding all because of him.

_Of course it is! Why else would she have come here if it weren't for my sake! _

Being a dunderhead that he was at that moment, it was reality's turn to slap him. It dawned on him that Hermione had truly loved him. Finally realizing his mistake.

_Oh no, what have I done?_

But he was shaken abruptly from his thoughts when he heard a familiar scream from the castle.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Hermione's hand had somehow rested on a vase whose flowers had been wasted when she bombarded the entrance. Now lying on the stone cold floor of the Astronomy Tower, an idea came to her. Though she wasn't sure if she was being herself or not. She didn't care anymore. Holding the vase in her hand, she smashed it violently on the floor; thus breaking the bottom of the glass into a million tiny pieces, leaving only the now sharp handle of the vase that she still held tightly.

And without even knowing it, she smeared the broken glass across her arms and wrists. Splattering blood all over the floor and staining her precious wedding dress.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Severus ran as fast as he could, almost knocking down every person he bumped along the way. But that hadn't bothered him, because what was important now is for him to find the voice to where he heard Hermione scream. He was sure it had to be her since he had heard her scream that way before back in her third year. Shaking away the thoughts of the past from his head, he approached the Headmaster.

He must not have been the only one who heard Hermione's scream; everybody had worried looks on their faces. AS he approached the Headmaster, there was another person who approached; a good-looking man much younger than he was. He seemed familiar.

_Probably a guest at the wedding. _

The man reminded him of a 19th century character in a book he once read. A gallant young man much like this one who approached them. His brown hair was neatly combed in place. His emerald green eyes matching the coat he wore. His black, high cut boots clicking loudly as he walked. And he wore a calm expression on his face.

Severus would have contemplated about this familiar man longer, had the situation not been serious. He was about to open his mouth to ask the whereabouts of Hermione, the Headmaster called upon the young man.

"Ah, Leopold, there you are."


	7. Blissful Ignorance

Chapter 7

_Leopold?! So this is the bloody bastard engaged to Hermione?! _

"Albus, I've looked everywhere I can but can't find her anywhere." Leopold stated rather out of breath.

"I think I may have an idea as to where her current location is, Leopold. In the meantime, I want you to meet somebody before we go and find her."

Severus knew the Headmaster's plan all too well. Nobody could hide anything from the man! He knew the Headmaster had known of his relationship with Hermione. Although he was thankful that he hadn't meddled when he and Hermione had been together, he took back what he said for the old man was not about to ruin his reputation in meddling. And Severus was certainly not about to ruin his either.

"Leopold, this is the last member of the staff that you haven't met yet. Our school's Potions Master; Professor Severus Snape." Albus chuckled inwardly to himself as he saw the look on Severus' face.

Leopold, being the gentleman that he was, extended his hand towards the Severus.

"Leopold Van Garret. It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor."

"Pleasure. Congratulations on the wedding by the way." Severus shook Leopold's hand lightly; barely even touching his skin while trying to pretend he had not known the wedding had been cancelled.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. The wedding was, regretfully…postponed. My dear Hermione isn't feeling well today. She ran off somewhere in the castle."

So it was true that Hermione didn't go through the wedding after all. He felt his spirits rise. Severus clenched his teeth to stop a smirk that was fighting to appear on his lips, if only that arrogant fool knew why Hermione had left him. Thankfully, the Headmaster was able to regain Leopold's attention before he could not hold it in any longer.

"Speaking of which, I have a strong feeling as to where Hermione is. Severus, please come with us." Albus' statement wiped the smirk off of Severus' face.

Severus wanted to be far from that arrogant fool as much as possible, but he also wanted to find Hermione as soon as possible. He was worried that his words earlier might push her to do something that wasn't good for her. All three men immediately made their way up to the Astronomy Tower. Albus' theory was proven to be right when they saw one of Hermione's gloves lying on the floor. Once they were near the entrance to the tower, Leopold hastened his pace and quickly barged on the door. His attempt to make a sudden appear inside failed miserably since the door wouldn't even budge.

"She's bombarded it inside." Severus stated matter-of-factly and motioned for Leopold to step aside and mumbled something about "useless muggles" before aiming his wand at the door. The door was smashed open and everything that was blocking the path was cleared out of the way.

Dust had filled their view for a moment. Once the dust cleared out, they didn't have to look anywhere further for Hermione. Their eyes widened to the scene before them. Hermione was lying unconscious on the floor, in her own pool of blood while a broken chair was lying on top of her.

Severus couldn't move upon seeing the sight before him. Every muscle in his body was slowly being paralyzed and refused to move at his command. So he just stood there, watching as Hermione bleed and angered by his helplessness. Quietly observing Hermione, he knew for sure that she was not bleeding just being hit by a chair.

"Hermione!" Leopold screamed from behind Severus and made his way towards Hermione's body. Throwing aside the broken chair and carefully held Hermione in his arms. When Leopold saw Hermione's arms, he had never seen a more horrifying sight.

"Oh no, Hermione, wake up! Hermione!" Leopold was starting to panic upon seeing Hermione like this.

"It's no use trying to awaken her. She has been badly wounded. Take her immediately to the Hospital Wing. Severus will accompany you there. I shall go and inform the others that we have found her." Albus turned to Severus and shook him from his thoughts.

"Severus, you are to go and accompany Leopold to the Hospital Wing. Hermione is in grave danger."

When Severus heard the Headmaster say that his beloved was in serious danger, he quickly regained his ability to move and lead the way to the Infirmary.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Where am I? Am I dead? …No, it couldn't be. This smell…this couldn't be who I think it is. No…this must be a dream. But where are they taking me?

Hermione couldn't see anything; even her eyes had been weak to open. Although she did hear voices from below. Voices of people grieving. But she wondered what had happened in the castle that may have brought everyone's sadness. Surely they did not grieve for her? When Hermione felt like the one carried her had turned to a corner, she heard Poppy's voice and that along told her exactly where she was.

"Oh, dear Merlin! Severus, what happened to her?" Madam Pomfrey was rushing over to Hermione's side as she was gently being laid down on the bed.

"It's a long story, Poppy. I'll tell you about it later. But for now please do what you can for her. She's bleeding to death!" Severus felt himself crying for the first time. He feared to think if they were too late to bring Hermione to the Hospital Wing. Too much blood had been lost from her body and she was beginning to pale.

Severus? But what is he doing here? And with Leopold of all people. Oh no…things could just not get any worse! 

"Severus, please brew some Pepper-Up Potion for Ms. Granger while I'll try and heal her wounds. She going to need it once she awakes. I'll deal with the blood she lost." Without another word said, Severus left.

"And…who are you?" Poppy asked the man standing beside Hermione's bed.

Leopold would have introduced himself but a very panicked Madam Pomfrey cut him short of his formalities.

"Oh never mind! I do apologize for my rudeness but this really isn't the perfect time for formalities. Please wait outside while I heal Ms. Granger."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Severus returned as soon as he had brewed the potion that Poppy asked. His fear of losing Hermione only quadrupled upon seeing the Infirmary doors being warded. Poppy only did that when something really serious has happened to one of her patients. He wanted to be inside and do something useful that would help Hermione's chances of surviving. But he knew better than to meddle with the medi-witch when she was working deadly serious. Having no choice on the matter, he sat beside Leopold; who had his face buried in his hands.

Neither of the two men spoke for a long period of time. Leopold was the first one to break the silence between them. Rubbing his face with his bloodied hands before speaking.

"I really don't understand why she's doing this. I thought she was going to be happy. I wasn't going to hold her back on her decision, nor was I even planning on it!"

Severus knew what he was talking about and felt somewhat responsible for his actions towards Hermione at the lake. His words must have wounded her on the inside very badly for her to end up like this. Although he was still sane enough not tell Leopold any of this, so he kept himself shut.

"I just wanted to know why. What have I ever done wrong for her to just abandon me like this? I did everything perfectly. I wanted everything to be perfect for her! But why?!"

"Hermione might seem to appear as a perfectionist, but she knows not everything could be perfect. Maybe that's the reason why."

Leopold suddenly lost his manly physique and intentionally took his anger out on Severus. No stranger was going to talk to him like that.

"And how would you know what she is?! You're just her Professor! You may see her everyday on your classes before but that doesn't give you the right to tell me what me fiancé is like?! I know exactly who she is!"

"Do you? You couldn't even figure out the problem when the answer is right in front of you! And you're right. I am her Professor, for seven years at least. Seven years is long enough for someone to know something about her, wouldn't you agree?"

At this point, both men were filled with rage and were now up on their feet. Severus would have loved to hex him into the next world, but he held himself back. Mainly because there were too many people in the castle. He certainly did not want his image of being a Death Eater to come back.

"Tell me, Mr. Van Garret, exactly how long have you known Hermione?"

"How dare you say her name! And even though none of this concerns you, I've known her long enough to know that I love her!"

"Stop making a fool of yourself! How long are you going to keep deluding yourself from the truth? You claim that you love her? You don't even know anything about her!"

"How dare you even speak to me like this! You have no right!"

"You're the one who has no right on this matter! Because of you, Hermione had no choice but to leave me and keep her promises of being betrothed to you! And because of you…I lost the only woman I have ever loved!"

This information hit Leopold in the head, more painfully than a bludger would. He certainly could not believe of what he was being told.

So…he was the reason why Hermione had left me?! This…this pathetic excuse for a man whose even old enough to be her father?! How…how could she! I loved her…and this is how she is going to grace me for an answer! Unacceptable!

Leopold was no longer able to restrain himself any further and hurtled towards Snape. Snape on the other hand quickly had his wand ready and was aiming it towards Leopold, ready to cast a disarming spell, when the Headmaster appeared right before them and both were suddenly incapable of any movements.


End file.
